Life Disrupted
by CEP914
Summary: Its just a normal day for Stephanie Plum. When a man and women show up looking for Steph what trouble will ensue? Who are they? What do they want? How will they turn Steph’s life upside down forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything Plum related. I'm not making any money from the Plum world. (Unfortunately) Katherine and Blake are all mine though :)

A/N: BABE. Should be Morelli friendly. Lula and Tank are still together in this.

It's just a normal day for Stephanie Plum. When a man and women show up looking for Steph what trouble will ensue? Who are they? What do they want? How will they turn Steph's life upside down forever?

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**Life Disrupted**  
**Chapter 1**

_Kats POV_

I turned my head to look at the man beside me.

Blake was my dream man that I thought would only be a dream. Strong. Intelligent. Hardworking. Confident. He is everything I want to be. Everything I _can't _be right now. My mind is too focused on Daniel. How is he doing? Will he survive this? Is God going to give him the angel he needs?

Again I could feel my eyes water when I pictured Danny in that hospital bed. Tubes coming out of him in every direction. He's still only a baby to me. No one was more surprised than me than when my . . . my parents told me I was going to have a baby brother. Thirteen years would separate us. Never did I think we would be as close as we were with our age difference. I was like a second mother to him when he was younger. He hardly ever left my side and hated when I would even think about taking one step in the opposite direction of him.

"Hey," Blake said softly. I focused back on his face in surprise. "Where did you go?" he asked, trying not to let all the worries he had for me show on his face.

_It seems all I ever do is cause him problems._

I shifted in my seat with a sigh. "I was thinking about Danny when he was younger." My voice was quiet and regretful. "We used to be so close."

It was Blake's turn to sigh as he kept driving down the never ending street. "Kat, you need to stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault that Danny started hanging with the wrong people. You were at school. There was nothing you could do to stop him from choosing them."

So many times Blake has told me that. So many times I told him the same thing. "I left him."

"You went to college honey. There's a big difference."

"Mmhmm." I watched as his grip on the steering wheel. His patience with my self-doubt was wearing thin. I had to bite my lip to try and stop the tears that swam in front of my eyes. No matter how many times or how many people explained that to me, in my heart I would always think it was my fault. I let Danny down. I let myself down.

Just a couple weeks after his twelfth birthday Danny started hanging around some thugs from his school. Everything went downhill after that. He began to drink and get high almost every day. Soon after that the police got involved. Danny has a juvenile rap sheet the size of my arm. Breaking and entering, trespassing, stealing, and possession are just some of the stupid things he's done. When I found out, I tried to get him straight again but he just wouldn't talk to me anymore. Mom and Dad were devastated. They tried everything they could but nothing worked. If anything, Danny just acted out worse than before.

School wasn't a priority for him so he started skipping class. He went to enough classes to keep the courts out of it. Surprisingly when I asked him about it he told why; Danny was already in court for all his other antics and he didn't want to add in something stupid like school. Apparently court was only fun when it involved serious stuff.

"Kit-Kat." Even with everything that was going on in my head, I couldn't help rolling my eyes at Blake's nickname for me. The only time he ever calls me Katherine, my actual name, is when I piss him off or I'm not being serious when he is.

I focused back on him. "What?"

"We're here."

Immediately my heart started to race. I looked out the window and saw the small office through the glass front. One woman with big hair and even bigger boobs sat behind a desk munching on a donut. A darker, plumper, more eccentric dressing woman was sitting on a beat up couch with a donut in one hand and a nail file in the other.

"Doesn't look like she's here," I told Blake. My emotions threw me into a bit of a tailspin. I was happy that her life still had some more time to be normal but I knew time was against us.

_Against Danny._

Before I knew it Blake was opening my door to help me out. "Jesus Kat. Your entire body is shaking," he said surprised.

I glanced at my hand in his, watching it shake for a moment. "I'm about to ruin everything this woman thought her life ever was." Blake opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. "Lets just get this over with."

Without waiting for him, I walked up to the bonds office and went in before I changed my mind. Both woman stopped what they were doing and looked at me. The one behind the desk gave me a courtesy smile. "Hello. Can I help-" she started to say but stopped in the middle of the sentence and looked over my shoulder.

I suppressed a sigh when the women on the couch started drooling. I should have made him wait in the car. Taking a deep breath, I walked towards the secretary's desk. "Hello," I said politely. No response. "Hello!" I shouted.

The lady jumped in her seat and looked at me apologetically. Her name plate read Connie Rossini. "How can I help you Miss….?"

"My name is Katherine Holt. I'm looking-" I started to say but I was cut off from the lady on the couch.

"Are you a new Merry Man?" she asked Blake.

I turned and looked at her surprised. Merry Man? As in a Robin Hood Merry Men?

Blake looked at her for a moment before asking, "What's a Merry Man?"

"Huh," was all she said as she looked him up and down. Next to her were a stack of folders. She picked up the top one and started fanning herself with it. "You sure look like one."

I knew I shouldn't but I couldn't help asking, "What's a Merry Men look like?"

Both Connie and the other woman spoke at the same time. "Hot."

Blake and I let out surprised laughs. Not a lot of people would just come out and say that. Blake gave me a wink and I guess I could see what they meant.

He's a few inches taller than my 5'4" status and has a nice build. He tries to work out 2 or 3 times a week but sometimes I'm able to distract him into exercising _my _way. Blake hates doing anything with his hair so he usually keeps it short. Ever since this whole mess with Danny started he hasn't had time to get it cut though, so now it's about an inch or two longer than he's used to. He has a very youthful face. He's four years older than me but looks like he's 5 years younger. _Bastard_. His best feature though, is his eyes. They are the brightest ice blue eyes I have ever seen. It's extremely easy to get lost in them.

"You aint gay are you?"

The question brought me back to the moment and made me blink in surprise.

Blake started laughing again and shook his head. "No ma'am, I'm not."

"Ma'am!" The woman on the couch glared at Blake. "Are you calling me old? Cause if you're calling me old I'll pop a cap in yo ass!"

Blake gave her a wide smile. I could tell her liked her personality. "No. I'd never call a lady old. Especially not one as young and beautiful looking as you."

He's such a kiss ass, I thought with a head shake.

"Huh." She looked him up and down again. "You married?"

"Lula, I thought you were still with Tank?" Connie asked, still behind the desk.

"Girl that don't mean I can't look around! And I sure as hell don't mind looking at him."

"Lula, is it?" Blake waited for her to nod. "As much as I'd like to tell you I'm single, I'm afraid this woman," he motioned his hand towards me, "has me for life."

"Huh," she said again. Lula looked at me and gave me a head to toe look over. "I don't see no ring."

We all looked at my bare left hand.

"You're right," Blake said. He looked around the office and spotted a soda can on Connie's desk. He walked up to her. "May I?" he asked motioning to the can.

"Go ahead."

He picked the can up and twisted the top off. After putting the can down, he turned towards me and got down on one knee. I rolled my eyes when he grinned at me. "Kit-Kat, will you do the honor of becoming my wife?"

"You have serious problems you know that?"

"Only since I've met you."

I laughed a little at that. "That's debatable B."

"Sooooooo," he drawled out, "wanna get hitched?"

I tried to smile but I could tell by the look in his eyes he knew his distraction wasn't working anymore. Every day that passes it gets harder and harder for me to smile and laugh like I used to. It's hard to forget how serious Danny's condition is. "Yes," I finally told him.

He slipped the soda can topper onto my finger, which surprisingly fit, and hugged me hard against him. "Everything will be ok, Kat," Blake whispered in my ear. "Danny's going to be fine. You're going to be fine." I nodded into his chest but didn't say anything. "I love you."

"I love you too Blake." And I did. I don't know what I would do if he wasn't by my side. I don't know how I'd be able to get through this.

"Hey," Connie called out to us. Blake and I parted and looked at her. "You got any brothers?"

Blake grinned and shook his head. "Sorry. I'm an only child, but I do have a lot of cousins."

Connie smiled and everyone settled back down. "So what can I do for you two? Need to bond one of those cousins out?"

I cleared my throat. "No. Not quite. My name is Katherine Rea Holt. I'm here looking for Stephanie Plum. I need to talk to her about something."

Lula stood up and gave me a squinty eye. "What do you need to talk to her for? You aint another one of them crazies of hers are you?"

"No," Blake broke in with a charming smile. "We just have some information Stephanie needs to hear about a mutual person we know," technically she doesn't know Danny but she will soon enough, "that's in the hospital right now."

"Hospital, huh?" Lula asked suspiciously.

"Yes, we thought this news would be better heard in person."

"Can you tell me where we could find her?" I asked, getting a little impatient.

Lula and Connie looked at each other for a moment before Connie shrugged slightly. "She's working part time over at Rangeman. It's an office building on Haywood. You know where it is?"

Blake nodded in thanks. "We'll find it. Thank you ladies. See you around." He placed his hand on the small of my back and lead me back out to the car. As soon as we were in, he turned to me. "You know they're calling her right now."

I glanced back into the window as we pulled out. Connie was on the phone watching us leave. "I'd call if I were them too." I plugged the address into the GPS and watched as it outlined the route. "Should only take 10 or 15 minutes."

I looked out the window, watching the people on the streets. Kids riding their bikes. Grandparents watching on their porches. Parents silhouettes in the house making dinner. "This looks likes a nice neighborhood."

"Hey, none of that Kat." Blake grabbed my left hand in his right. "Your life is still the same in many ways."

In too many ways it would always be different, I thought sadly.

"What if she won't help?" I asked suddenly.

"_If_," he stressed, "she can help but chooses not to, then I will find another way. I'll do everything in my power to make this better. Danny will be fine, and so will you." He kissed the soda top on my finger before focusing back on the road.

My eyes closed as I began to pray.

_Please God keep Danny safe in your hands and help me get him through this. Let Stephanie be understanding and guide her to him if she can help. And please God, watch over Blake as he watches out for everyone but himself. So many people need him so please let no harm come to him. Amen._

Amen, I though again as the road disappeared behind us on the way to Rangeman.

_To Stephanie._

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Authors Note: So what do you guys think? What's the deal with Danny? How is Stephanie involved with him? What do Blake and Kat know that Stephanie doesn't?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own them. Not making any money.

A/N**:** Stephanie and Kat finally meet. What news does Kat have that will change everything Stephanie knows?

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**Life Disrupted  
****Chapter 2**

Ten minutes and two near heart attacks later, we pulled up to the nondescript, seven story Rangeman building. I could feel Blake's eyes on me as I stared at the small plaque above the front entrance.

"Hey," he said softly, "you don't have to go in. I can do this for you."

"I need to see her." My selfishness demanded to see her and the pain only she would understand.

"Baby-"

I opened the door and got out before he could reach for me. "No," I said turning around to look into his eyes. "I'm the only person who will know what she's feeling."

He got out of the car and came to stand in front me. "I know how painful and confusing this is for you but-"

My head shook of its own accord. "No you don't Blake. You will _never_ know just how much this hurts. My whole life is a lie. I don't know who I am anymore."

I started walking towards the building when Blake grabbed my left hand, spinning me back around and into his arms. "You might not know who you are," he whispered fiercely into my ear as I struggled to get out of his grip, "but I do."

"Let me go!"

He ignored me, anchored me against his body with his left arm as he tilted my face up towards his with his other hand. "You are Katherine Rea Holt, owner of Holt Gallery. You are strong, independent, smart, thoughtful, adventurous, kind, and diligent. You spend every spare minute you have helping people." My body started to shake as I fought to keep from crying again at the sincerity in his voice. "You have four different smiles: one when you get a great surprise, one when you're just in a good mood, one when you're being polite to people you probably just want to punch in the face, and one when you think of sad things but don't want other people to worry about you."

He paused to caress my cheek as I finally let the tears building inside me fall freely down my face. "Your favorite color is sapphire because that's the color my eyes turn whenever I think about you." I couldn't help smiling through my tears at that. "Most importantly though," Blake said turning serious, "you have and _always _will be daughter to Angela and Jonathan Holt. Nothing will change that, you understand?"

_No._

I nodded weakly and buried my face against his chest for a minute.

I felt more than heard him sigh. "You know, one day I _will _make you believe that."

"You can try," I mumbled as I held him tight for an extra second before he loosened his grip on me.

"You're a pain in my ass," he said with a smile as he leaned down to kiss me softly.

"Mmhmm, you still love me."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He looked at me seriously. "Are you ready?"

"No but Danny can't wait any longer."

I got myself together, thanking God I didn't put any makeup on this morning, while Blake got my purse out of the car and locked up. I smiled at him lightly as he grabbed my hand and we started walking towards Rangeman.

_**Steph's POV**_

I was halfway through a Butterscotch Krimpet as I waited for the search to finish when Connie called.

"Yo," I said, licking filling from my fingers.

"You sound more like Ranger every day."

I rolled my eyes and ignored that comment. "What's up, Connie?"

"You don't have another stalker that I don't know about do you?"

_Well this can't be good._ "Not that I know about. Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"A man and a woman were just in here looking for you. She said her name was Katherine Holt and he was Blake something."

"Katherine and Blake. . . They don't ring any bells. Are they from the 'Burg?"

"No. Especially not the guy. That man looked like a Calvin Klein underwear model."

"Don't short circuit your computer with that drool of yours."

"Ha. Ha. Ha. So funny. Be careful around them, the girl looked kind of crazy."

_Great. Just what I need._ "Was she _crazy _crazy or _stressed_ crazy?"

"Just stressed crazy. They said they had some information for you about someone that you know in the hospital. They wouldn't say who though, just that it would be better to hear in person."

"Hmm."

"Exactly. I gave them the address to Rangeman so they'll be there soon."

"Ok. Thanks for the head up."

"Sure. Oh and three new files came in today."

"I'll be by to pick them up tomorrow then."

I heard Lula shout over the phone, "Bring donuts!"

"Did you hear that?" Connie asked.

"How could I not?"

She laughed and disconnected.

I put my phone away and thought more about Katherine and Blake. I think I'd remember meeting someone named Blake. And what about the person in the hospital? Everyone in my family is fine, and definitely no one in the 'Burg is in there or my mom would have mentioned it last night when I bummed dinner off her.

"Mentioned what?"

I jumped as Ranger showed up out of nowhere. "Jesus! Make some noise will you!"

He gave me his half grin but didn't say anything as he leaned against the side of my cubicle.

I tried to wait him out but after about 30 seconds I gave up with a sigh. "A man and a woman were just at the Bonds Office looking for me."

Ranger raised an eyebrow. "Something you want to tell me?"

"Nope. I have no idea who they are. Connie said the girl was Katherine Holt and the guys name was Blake. They want to tell me about someone in the hospital but nobody I know is in the hospital or my mom would have said something last night."

"What else did Connie get from them?"

"Nothing that she told me. Just said their names and she said the girl looked stressed out."

"They coming here?"

"That's what Connie said."

He glanced at his watch before calling the reception desk on picked up after one ring. "Rangeman."

"Yo. Two people will be coming here looking for Stephanie. Bring them up to 2C." Ranger hung up and I just stared at him. Again he raised his eyebrow at me.

"What the hell was that?" I finally asked.

"Privacy."

"You could have asked me. What if I wanted to go out?" Again he raised that _annoying _eyebrow. "If you keep doing that, it's going to stay that way."

He just grinned at me.

I blew out a sigh and printed out the last search for Rodriquez before tossing it in my outbox. Ranger just continued to stare at me as I logged off and put the computer on standby.

"Babe."

_Well that could mean a lot of things._ "What?" I asked as I grabbed my gun, putting it in my purse. Right after I deal with Katherine and Blake I'm heading straight home to Rex, a pint of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and a nice long bubble bath.

"Want company?"

My face flushed at the thought. "I think I can manage a bath by myself."

Ranger grinned at me. "I was talking about your two new friends."

_Crap. _"I knew that."

He walked the two feet towards me and tucked a stray curl behind my ear. "But if you want, I happen to be _very _good in baths."

_Don't I know it. _"I think," I said trying not to stutter, "that you-"

Thankfully I was cut off from answering when Woody buzzed us saying that they were here. _Saved by the bell. _

"One of these days I will get an answer out of you." Ranger hooked an arm around me and led me to the elevator.

I gave his a sweet smile but didn't say anything. _As long as that day isn't today._

It was a quiet ride down to the second floor. Both of us lost in our own thoughts. What Ranger was thinking I'll never know, but my mind was running a mile a minute. He was right, one of these days I was going to have to give Ranger a straight answer. I've been putting off the inevitable by keeping Ranger at bay ever since Morelli and I split a couple months ago. It was hard for both of us to realize that maybe we just weren't meant to be. I wasn't going to become a wife and mother overnight. It wasn't fair to keep Morelli waiting for me when I might never become the woman he wanted. We're still good friends and even share a game and pizza every now and then.

The tension between Ranger and I tripled when he found out Joe and I were done for good. True to his word, I found Ranger in my bed a couple days later. Half of me begged to crawl in with him, but it was the part of me that needed some time to think that won that day. Surprisingly, Ranger didn't push as much as I expected him to. Thank God since I probably would have given in. I don't do casual. He doesn't do relationships. That makes things a little complicated.

"Babe."

I looked at Ranger in surprise. He was already out of the elevator but had his hand blocking the doors so they wouldn't close on me.

Quickly, I got out with a blush on my cheeks. "Sorry. Guess I got caught up in my thoughts."

Ranger kissed the top of my head but didn't say anything. He led me to room C with his hand on my neck. When I opened the door and walked in I could see the woman leaning against the man as they sat facing away from the door. They stood when Ranger and I walked in front of the table.

Blake. . . . Well I understand why Connie said he looked like a Calvin Klein model. He wore blue jeans and a zipped up black hoodie, which made me feel less awkward after looking more closely at Katherine.

She was dressed very professionally in a tailored grey pencil skirt and matching jacket with a red blouse underneath. Katherine looked as good as I did on one of my bad days. She had dark bags under her eyes and her brown hair was pulled back in a clip. Her eyes were already red and swollen but as she continued to stare at my face, tears started to fall down her face.

"Kat," Blake spoke her name softly.

She looked at him, not even bothering to stop her tears. "Sh-she. . ."

"I know, baby." He wiped her tears away with his thumb as he caressed her cheek. "Maybe you should-"

"No." She shook her head emphatically as tears continued to stream down her face. "I already told you. No." Ranger cleared his throat and Katherine looked at him. "Sorry. It's been a long couple of couple of weeks for me. My name is Katherine Rea Holt."

I shook hands with her after Ranger. "I'm Stephanie and this is Ranger, owner of Rangeman."

"I'm Bl-" he started but Ranger finished for him.

"Blake Donahue."

Blake nodded at Ranger. "You have a good memory, Mr. Manoso."

"You two know each other?" Kat asked confused.

"I've done a lot of business with Rangeman Boston in the past." He gave Ranger a pointed look that Katherine missed as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

"Please have a seat," I said to them. After we all took our seats I got the ball rolling. "What can I do for you Katherine?"

"Please call me Kat, only my. . . my mom still calls me Katherine."

I smiled at her. "Then please call me Steph."

She blew out a breath and reached for Blake's hand on the table. He gave her an encouraging look before she continued. "There's no easy way to tell you what I have to say, but in order for you to understand why I needed to find you, you have to know how all this came up. I was raised in eastern Massachusetts. I have a brother named Danny who's 13 years younger than me. He was a sweet kid. He stuck to me like glue before I left for college in New York." Her voice cracked a little and Blake squeezed her hand she could continue I reached into my purse and pulled out a small package of tissues and wordlessly handed them to her."Thanks," she said gratefully as she wiped the rest of her tears away.

"No problem. Take your time." I had to admit I was curious why she was here and why she felt the need to tell me about her brother. I glanced at Ranger but he gave had his blank face on. If he knew what was going on, he wasn't about to let any of us know.

"Everything just kind of went downhill after I left," she continued. "Danny started to fight with Mom and Dad about everything. At first I just thought it was just normal boy stuff. Nothing to worry about. After college though, I stayed in New York to get my Masters in Art History so I wasn't home often. A little after Danny turned 12, he started hanging out with the wrong kids at school. They got him into drugs, alcohol, trespassing, and a bunch of other stupid stuff. It wasn't long before the cops caught on to him and his _friends._ He's been in juvie too many times to count."

"I'm sorry," Ranger said, "but I don't see how this relates to Stephanie."

"She's getting to the point Manoso." Blake seems a little pissed that Ranger interrupted.

"Blake - Ranger," Kat and I spoke at the same time.

Both men stared at each other for a moment before I rolled my eyes and asked her to continue.

"Right," she said. "Apparently his _friends_ decided to turn him into a dealer. They supplied the drugs and he sold them, splitting the money with them." Kat closed her eyes tight for a moment. I could almost hear her willing her tears not to fall. "What they didn't tell him was that the drugs weren't exactly pure. Being the idiot that he turned into, he began using the drugs. Over time. . ." she bit her lip as tears broke free again, "over the years the pesticides that were laced into the drugs started to affect him. Danny thought what he was feeling were just side-effects of the drugs so he didn't do anything. He just smoked more to numb himself. Almost two weeks ago, when I went home for my mother's birthday, Blake and I found Danny in his room unconscious. We thought he had overdosed on my father's prescription pain pills."

Kat had started to shake. It was at that point when Blake tried to pull her into his arms but she pulled away from him and tried to get herself together. "No," she tried to say forcefully. "I'm fine." But we could all see she wasn't. She looked back at me with a mixture of fear, pain, and sorrow. "I don't think I told you, but Blake is actually a doctor. He took over Danny's case and immediately had his stomach pumped and had him taken for tests to see how badly his body was reacting to what we had thought were just the pain pills. When. . . when he got the test results back, they showed that Danny's liver was failing. That how we found out about the pesticides."

My heart hurt for the girl but I still couldn't figure out what I had to do with her and Danny. "I don't understand what you're trying to tell or ask me."

Her tears starter to flow faster down her face. "Danny's liver is shutting down. There is no way to undo the effects of the pesticides. The only way to save him is with a transplant."

"Are you asking for-" I said surprised.

She reaching out and grabbing both of my hands in hers. I was shocked but didn't pull away as she leaned across the table. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Stephanie that we've had to find out like this."

"Find out what, Katherine? You're starting to freak me out." This was all getting too weird. My stomach was filled with dread and felt like it was about to jump out of my throat.

Katherine ignored what I said and squeezed my hands harder. "Transplants can only be done for people with matching blood types. Danny is O negative. Immediate family members are the best chances. Blake tested all of us. My parents are both B-." She paused to take a deep breath. "Stephanie. . . . I'm AB positive. It's impossible that the people who raised me are my biological parents."

My heart started to beat triple time. I didn't know what to think about that. "I-I still don't know why you're telling me this."

"Babe…" I looked at Ranger and for the first time ever, I saw surprise written all over his face.

"What?" I said louder than I intended. "Am I the only one that doesn't know what the fuck is going on?"

Blake cut in, leaning forward slightly. "Stephanie, you and Katherine were both born on October 12, 1978 at Trenton General Hospital."

Reality hit me like a shot to the chest, knocking the air out of . No. No. No. No. This is impossible. It can't be true.

"Stephanie," Kat whispered. "We were switched at birth."

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A/N:**:** Soooo _that's_ the big secret. Huh. . . . ;) How will Steph react? What's going to happen to Danny? Thanks for reading! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own them. Not making any money.

* * *

**Life Disrupted  
Chapter 3**

"No," I said shaking my head. "That's impossible. I know who my parents are. I'm sorry but you have the wrong person."

"No we don't, Stephanie," Kat said with desperation, squeezing my hands even tighter. "My . . . . _your _family-"

"No!" I shouted and pulled my hands away from her. "I _know _who my family is. If you wanna play games you picked the wrong person. Go screw with someone else's head!" I stood up so fast my chair tipped over and I ran out the room without looking back.

Luckily I had my keys in my pocket and ran down the stairs to the parking garage. I could hear Ranger right behind me but with a burst of speed I didn't know I had in me, I was sliding into my car. Luck stayed with me because as soon as I started the car Lester was pulling up to the gate and keyed it open. The basement door flew open and I floored the car right through the still opening gate, just barely making it through without a scratch.

My mind was racing as I drove on autopilot, not noticing where I was heading. Not caring where I ended up. I just had to get out of here.

She had to have been lying. _Please God tell me she was lying. _I know who my family is.

_I know who my family is. _That one sentence kept repeating itself inside my head.

Connie was right. They were crazy. Trying to pull some stupid, sick joke on me. Who the hell do they think they are! Some things shouldn't be joked about no matter what! Don't they understand that!

The knot in my chest wasn't helping me.

_What proof do they have!_ Angry Stephanie yelled_._

**Well we didn't exactly stay to find out now did we?** Sensible Stephanie replied.

_Shut up! They were lying. We _know _who our parents are!_

**Haven't you ever wondered why we don't fit into the Burg' mold?**

_W-well that's only because we were born for better things!_

**Not better. Just different.**

_Whatever._

I could feel sensible Steph roll her eyes. **Nice reply.**

_Shut up_**.**

Things were quiet for a moment as we considered the possibilities. One way or the other they all sucked.

_What are we going to do?_

**We're going to find out the truth.**

_What if they were telling the truth?_ Angry Steph asked softly.

**Then we have a lot of thinking to do.** Sensible Steph replied just as quietly.

How much time passed I don't know but when I finally came back into myself, I was in the hospital parking lot. I pulled into a spot near the front. It took three tries to pull my keys out; my hands were shaking so badly.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes not ready to get out of the car yet. Have you ever tried to cheer yourself up? I have. . . It doesn't work so well. Maybe I'm just telling myself the wrong things though.

I kept my eyes closed as my neck went all tingly and a car pulled up beside me. No doors opened. With a deep sigh my eyes slowly opened and I got out. Knowing I had to find out the truth on my own, I knocked on the tinted windows lightly. It rolled down to reveal Tank in the passenger's seat with Ranger driving.

"I need to do this on my own," I said staring into Rangers eyes.

There was a flash of sadness and understanding before his blank face slammed into place. He nodded but didn't drive away. Ranger might not follow me in, but there was no way he was going to leave me alone.

That's better than nothing I guess.

I've been in the hospital enough times to know my blood type is O negative. But my parents? What were they? It's been a long time since I've taken biology but I remember enough to know that if even one of my parents has AB blood then….. My mom and dad aren't really my parents.

Please God, I prayed, please just let this all be a joke.

I walked towards the large automatic doors with my heart doing jumping jacks in my chest.

When I was no more than five feet inside, my high school friend Annie came up to me with a big smile. "Steph!" She hugged me tight. "It's been a long time since you've been in here!" She checked me over not too subtly. "You're not hurt are you?"

"No I'm not hurt." Jeez. I leaned closer to her and spoke low. "Annie I need a favor."

Her eyes sparkled with surprise and curiosity. "Sure. What do you need?"

I shook my head slowly. "This needs to be kept a secret. If you don't think you can do that, then I can't ask you." Annie was always a big gossiper.

"Hrmph," she blew out. "Of course I can keep a secret. I won't tell anyone! Promise."

I stared at her for a minute. "Swear on Pappy's grave."

Her eyes widened as I pulled out the big guns. Pappy was her grandfather that took over the position of her father when he was killed in a car accident. No one had been closer to Annie than Pappy.

She gnawed on her bottom lip before nodding her head. "I swear on Pappy's grave. I won't tell anyone."

With a satisfied nod, I leaned back toward her and whispered in her ear.

Her voice was a sharp whisper. "I could get fired for that." Annie looked around and when she was satisfied she pulled me into an empty corridor. "Wait here. If anyone asks you're waiting for me to come back from the bathroom," with that said she walked away.

The wait was excruciating. In a matter of minutes I could know whether Kat was telling the truth. Was it possible that our lives were switched? Did we end up with the wrong parents?

Was it possible?

What seemed like a lifetime later Annie came walking down the hallways with a stack of folders and charts. She walked right past me with barely a nod to follow her. Looking around to make sure no one saw, she opened a room and gently shut it behind me. The light flickered on.

"I don't know why you want these Steph but I'll leave them here for you to look at. When you're done put them in large gown draw and leave. I'll pick them up after ok?"

I nodded numbly as she gave me a fierce hug and left.

On the bed were two folders.

One was for Helen Plum. The other for Frank Plum.

My mother might not have understood me as I was growing up but I knew that she loved me. I was her daughter. She just wanted me to be happy. But what makes us happy is so different. She can't see past her own version of what happy should be.

I ran my hand lightly over their files. If either of them had AB for a blood type or had a positive rH factor then . . .

I held my breath as I opened my moms. The words swam in front of me, not really registering anything. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to focus on the text.

It was in the center of the page . . .

_Blood Type: A-_

My knees went weak. Rolling over the stool, I sat down heavily before I collapsed.

It still could be just a misunderstanding for Kat. It had to be. Please God let it be wrong.

I just had to open my dad's file now.

My dad was everything to me growing up. He wasn't a vocal guy, he kept to himself even now, but there were small hugs and kisses on my head that let me know he was there for me. I used to sit on his lap and watch the games with him. It was our time. He understood my need to fly. My dad encouraged me when my mom would have given anything for me to give up.

His file was suddenly open. I didn't remember touching it.

I looked down to the middle of the page.

There was the answer.

I shut the folder and stacked it on top of my mother's before dropping them in the draw Annie pointed to. The door shut quietly behind me as I made my way out of the hospital.

The walk to the car should have taken five minutes but I don't remember one second of it. Someone touched me and suddenly I was pulled back into myself and reality. Ranger was cupping my face in his hands. His soft expression did me in. Loud sobs broke through my body as my knees gave out. Ranger was right there to catch me though. He held me tight, cradled against his chest, as tears ran heavily down my cheeks. I gripped his shirt with my hands and buried my face in his neck crying loudly.

There was tightness in my chest that loosened. I hadn't even known it existed. I cried even harder as it was replaced by a different kind of feeling.

I went from being a pain in the ass to my mother to being someone else's problem.

A hysterical laugh bubbled up my throat. I tried to keep it in but failed as giggles started pouring out of me.

Ranger carried me somewhere as the laughter continued.

The words on my dad's file swam to the front of my mind as the world around me started to spin.

_Blood Type: AB+_

* * *

A/N: So it seems Kat was telling the truth. The question is what is Stephanie going to do about it? Please review!


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